President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday that “Rex is here” when asked about Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's future in the administration; Tillerson was inside the White House at the time. | Andrew Harrer/Pool/Getty Images

Trump cries 'fake news' in denying Tillerson departure

President Donald Trump cried “FAKE NEWS!” on Friday, using one of his favorite phrases to dispute reports that the White House has created a plan to oust Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in the coming weeks.

“The media has been speculating that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon — FAKE NEWS!” Trump tweeted Friday afternoon. “He’s not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again!”

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Friday’s post was the president’s first relevant response to The New York Timesreport on Thursday that White House chief of staff John Kelly has created a plan to force Tillerson out of the State Department and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo. (The president told reporters Thursday that “Rex is here” when asked about his future in the administration; Tillerson was inside the White House at the time.)

Tillerson told reporters Friday morning that reports of his demise were “laughable.”

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Thursday that Kelly had called the department to say “the rumors are not true.” And White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested that Trump had confidence in Tillerson despite their strained relationship.

“When the president loses confidence in someone, they will no longer serve in the capacity that they’re in,” she told reporters at Thursday’s briefing.

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Tillerson has made multiple trips to the White House in the past two days, including on Friday a meeting with Trump and Libya’s prime minister, and lunch with the president and Defense Secretary James Mattis.

While Trump insisted he and Tillerson “work well together,” Nauert had little indication Thursday of the pair’s relationship.

“I know that they’ve had certainly a cordial relationship,” she said. “Where that relationship is today, I can’t speak to that. I have not personally been in the room with the secretary and the president at the same time. So there’s not too much that I can really say about that, other than the secretary serves at the pleasure of the president.”